Zheng Pei’s concern wasn’t without reason. Though Emperor Zhou addressed Pang Xiao as a brother, he was also deeply wary of Pang Xiao’s military command. When Pang Xiao was away at war, Emperor Zhou had repeatedly summoned Pang Xiao’s mother, maternal grandfather, and maternal grandmother to the palace for “care.”
On the surface, it was presented nobly as fulfilling brotherly duty to show filial piety, but in essence it was a threat to Pang Xiao. If Pang Xiao dared to rebel or refused to obey, the elderly might very well “fall ill and die” in the palace.
For this, Pang Xiao had often been angry and had to endure much.
His current fury suggested the Emperor had done such things again.
Pang Xiao remained silent with a cold expression.
Huzi observed Pang Xiao’s mood and picked up the slip of paper to read. He cried out in shock, “That shameless old dog Yuchi! He actually wants to dig out Fourth Miss’s heart, and grind up her bones and flesh for that Cao woman to eat, claiming it’s for preserving beauty! This is worse than pigs and dogs!”
Zheng Pei took the paper from Huzi and read it carefully, his brow furrowing deeply.
“Your Highness, what you should care about now are rear affairs. Leaving one guard for Miss Qin Si was already enough – why do you keep paying attention to Great Yan? If someone catches evidence of this, aren’t you afraid of being accused of treason and collaborating with enemies? Besides, what is that Miss Qin? Her father is Qin Meng! She’s the daughter of your father’s killer! How can you do this? How does this honor your father!”
Zheng Pei had been a strategist beside Pang Zhongzheng. When Pang Zhongzheng sensed trouble coming, he made some advance arrangements.
Having escaped death, Zheng Pei was determined on revenge. First, he went through great trouble to drug Qin Huaiyuan to end his lineage, then switched away his only daughter, hoping to watch him suffer when he eventually learned the truth.
Finding Pang Xiao was entirely based on a small incident in his memory.
He had happened to witness Lady Pang driving away Yao Shi. After the Pang family died, he tracked down Yao Shi’s whereabouts just to try his luck, never expecting that Yao Shi had indeed become pregnant from just one encounter.
Later, when Li Qitian raised his banner in rebellion, it was Zheng Pei who followed Li Qitian to find the Yao family and brought fourteen-year-old Pang Xiao into the army for training.
Zheng Pei felt he lived up to the four words “loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness.” He was an old hand from Pang Xiao’s father’s side, and Pang Xiao wasn’t even legitimate – he couldn’t even be called a concubine’s son. Zheng Pei had seen Pang Xiao’s initial timid appearance when he didn’t even dare kill.
Therefore, no matter how formidable Pang Xiao became or how terrifying his reputation, Zheng Pei still held some contempt for him. When he found Pang Xiao’s actions inappropriate, he would still speak up to lecture him.
Previously, Pang Xiao had always shown Zheng Pei great respect.
Today, however, he didn’t respond. He sat quietly in the main seat, his sharp brow conveying a hint of coldness. The steely gaze forged on battlefields fell upon Zheng Pei, making him shiver inwardly.
“Young Prince?” Zheng Pei’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
Pang Xiao chuckled softly, “Master Zheng, I think there’s one thing you definitely haven’t understood clearly.”
Zheng Pei cupped his hands, “Please enlighten me, Your Highness.”
Pang Xiao stood up, pacing toward Zheng Pei with his hands behind his back. His presence was like a towering mountain, so oppressive that Zheng Pei unconsciously retreated two steps and lowered his head.
“Master Zheng must not forget – this prince is the master, you are the servant.”
Upon hearing this, Zheng Pei’s eyes widened in disbelief. He looked up at Pang Xiao incredulously, his face flushing red, his beard trembling with anger, “What does Your Highness mean by this?”
“Clearly, Master Zheng has forgotten his position. Or do you think this prince is still that young boy who could be manipulated at will?”
Manipulated at will?
He actually thought that?!
Zheng Pei’s face grew even more purple with rage, “What does Young Prince mean by this? This old man cannot bear the word ‘manipulation’! You must not forget that if not for this old man mentioning you to His Majesty, you would now…”
“If Master Zheng hadn’t mentioned me to His Majesty back then, I would still be called Yao Xiaoyao, still filially caring for my mother, grandfather, and grandmother in a small town, still simply running a small restaurant, cooking a few dishes when happy, drinking with friends when melancholy. Even if I couldn’t reach the pinnacle of power or great wealth, I would live happily and comfortably until old age. I wouldn’t have been thrown into battlefields full of severed limbs and blood at such a young age, wouldn’t have to survive in the cracks under suspicion and pressure! And I wouldn’t be scolded like a grandson by a servant!”
Pang Xiao’s words brought tears to Huzi’s tiger eyes and made Zheng Pei’s face pale.
“You follow this prince yet can’t position yourself properly. Do you still think this prince is that inexperienced young boy from years past? Since you’ve already pulled this prince into this circle, and this prince has climbed to this height through his own efforts, then nothing can be manipulated by you anymore!”
“Don’t speak of father’s revenge. This prince never even met his father, nor had that jealous and vicious legitimate mother. This prince has no feelings whatsoever for the Pang family. This prince even originally surnamed Yao! It was you who, to raise the banner of Pang Zhongzheng, forced this prince to change his name!”
“You…”
“Isn’t what this prince said true? You’ve used this prince enough – you didn’t expect this prince would escape your control, did you? You can write exactly this in your secret reports to His Majesty – tell His Majesty all of this prince’s words today!”
Zheng Pei’s eyes suddenly widened, his lips trembling, his whole body shaking.
He knew! He actually knew everything!
Huzi looked at Zheng Pei in disbelief, murmuring, “Master Zheng, you… how could you…” The person he had always thought was utterly loyal and devoted to the prince was actually a spy His Majesty had placed beside the Young Prince?
Pang Xiao snorted coldly and sat back down, his presence imposing as he said, “Master Zheng, this prince spares your life out of respect for my father. After all, you were loyal to father your whole life. But this prince warns you – don’t make moves against Miss Qin Si again! And don’t be disrespectful toward her in this prince’s presence! Reach too far and risk having your hand chopped off!”
For many years, Zheng Pei had been a person of attention, his status in the army transcendent. He never expected Pang Xiao would rebuke him so mercilessly.
Unable to save face, he spoke angrily like scattered pearls, “If Young Prince suspects my disloyalty, I have nothing to say, but Young Prince absolutely shouldn’t, shouldn’t be involved with the enemy’s daughter…”
“Back then, father’s achievements threatened the ruler – he was already feared by the foolish emperor. Otherwise, how could a small, traceable scheme of sowing discord have cost father his life? You clearly know the foolish emperor was just using a pretext. The real enemy was never Qin Meng, but the foolish emperor! Your behavior of venting anger on the Qin family is simply an incompetent display of unclear grudges!”
“Father’s revenge – this prince has long since taken it! This prince destroyed Northern Ji, killed the foolish emperor, and captured all the treacherous ministers who instigated the foolish emperor back then, subjecting them to death by a thousand cuts! The killing was so thorough that Northern Ji’s former ministers still hate this prince and call this prince a demon behind my back. If this prince’s actions don’t count as revenge, then what does? Should it be like Master Zheng, indiscriminately venting anger on an infant girl? If you call this prince disloyal and unfilial, then is Master Zheng’s wavering between this prince and His Majesty considered loyal and filial?”
Question after question left Zheng Pei pale-faced and momentarily speechless.
Zheng Pei, who had originally been full of righteousness, lost his confidence when Pang Xiao revealed his secret correspondence with His Majesty. Now unable to distinguish anything clearly, he only wished to get far away from Pang Xiao and never again see those eyes that seemed to perceive everything!
Zheng Pei pressed his lips together, cupped his hands, turned and left.
This time, Huzi didn’t immediately chase after him, but looked at Pang Xiao with concern.
“Master, if Master Zheng tells His Majesty about today’s events, His Majesty will fear you even more.”
“His Majesty’s wariness of this prince never diminishes! Even if this prince acts humble and submissive, he still fears this prince’s military authority; even if this prince surrendered military power, he’d still fear this prince’s prestige in the army; even if this prince had no military prestige, he’d still fear the mandate of heaven.”
Pang Xiao snorted coldly, his well-defined fingers tapping the armrest of his chair, “This prince has long known Master Zheng’s thoughts. Speaking plainly today prevents him from being too self-important and doing things that would force this prince to kill him. After all, his loyalty to father was genuine.”
Huzi nodded. Thinking of Pang Xiao’s words just now and carefully recalling his experiences over the years, his heart ached. The prince’s current position and the enormous pressure he bore were all forced upon him!
Seeing Pang Xiao still cold-faced, Huzi’s eyes turned as he directed the conversation to Qin Yining.
“That old dog Yuchi is so vicious – who knows how Fourth Miss is doing now. Should Your Highness think of a way to help Fourth Miss?”
Indeed, at the mention of Qin Yining, Pang Xiao’s stern expression softened, and his lips curved into a warm arc.
“You needn’t worry. Didn’t Ji Yun say they were heading to Immortal Maiden Temple? Yining must have thought of a countermeasure. Just watch – by tomorrow at the latest, follow-up news will arrive.”
Huzi raised an eyebrow, “Your Highness truly has confidence in Fourth Miss.”
“Naturally. How could someone this prince has set his sights on be unable to handle such a small matter?”
Huzi silently grumbled inwardly while outwardly agreeing fawningly.
Sure enough, news from Great Yan arrived the next day.
Reading the content on the slip of paper, Pang Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle. His laughter grew more hearty until he finally tossed the paper to Huzi and burst into full laughter.
Huzi caught the paper and read it carefully, saying admiringly, “Only Fourth Miss could think of such a method. This way, wouldn’t it completely silence that old dog Yuchi? But Your Highness, you said Fourth Miss went to Immortal Maiden Temple – could she know that Immortal Liu is actually Tianji Zi? Otherwise, how would she dare use Tianji Zi’s name to spread rumors?”
“No, she probably doesn’t know.” Pang Xiao thought carefully and laughed again, “She must have paid silver to ask Immortal Liu to impersonate Tianji Zi. That bald scoundrel – wouldn’t he be soft-handed collecting money?”
Thinking of this, Pang Xiao’s expression suddenly grew serious, “Have someone immediately watch Immortal Maiden Temple secretly and carefully monitor Tianji Zi’s movements.”
Huzi was startled, “Why? Is Your Highness afraid Tianji Zi will run away?”
Pang Xiao just smiled and changed the subject, “Send another message to ‘Mutou,’ saying this prince will visit the day after tomorrow.”
Huzi was even more surprised, “Your Highness, you plan to have Young Master Mu fulfill the wager?”
“Father’s debts pass to the son. Tianji Zi is his master – if his master runs away, isn’t it normal to collect the debt from him? Don’t you think so?”
What do you mean “don’t you think so”…
Young Master Mu is also an honest person – how many times has he been implicated by Tianji Zi? Too pitiful!